Counting Stars
by Gabriel Seraph
Summary: She's the daughter of an abusive high school principal. He's an oddball artist with too much brains for his own good. Together, they will discover their true power, with the magic of pencils, pyrokinesis, and a pocketful of jelly beans. Part 1 of the Lost Boy Chronicles. High School AU, violence, heavy language. Major Trigger Warning: Regina/Nick het lemons. You've been warned.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Yes, I am aware that the High School AU genre gets discredited by many. I hope if you are one of those many, you can get past thy prejudices long enough to at least attempt my story. If you enjoy it, then I am truly sorry.

Logic? I don't need no stinking logic! Sanity-free storytelling, that's the order of the day from me!

R&R and enjoy!

Counting Stars

Chapter 1

Yet another pep rally. Useless, worthless, a complete waste of time. Regina squirmed in her seat. The advantage to this dog-and-pony show was that everyone got less class time that day. The disadvantage, at least for her, was that she had to be assaulted by hip-hop at maximum volume. One would think, given that Forest Peak was a small town with 2.5 pines for every human inhabitant and a sizable alternative-rock-based mishmash subculture, that this sort of thing would be illegal.

Except the principal was kind of a control freak. Regina should know. She'd been subjected to said freakish control for seventeen years.

Next to her, Nick Burkhardt had thought ahead, and brought protection. Sound-canceling headphones sat snugly around his ears, presumably feeding him a bit of Arcade Fire to help block out the god-awful noise in the gym. Regina sneaked a peek at him, and saw him, as usual, sketching away in his notebook. Regina contemplated seizing the notebook and using her magic to set it on fire. _Take the drawing, watch it burn_, she sang bitterly in her head, to the tune of "Counting Stars." He paused briefly to pluck a jelly bean from the bag in the pocket of his olive-drab peacoat.

Regina looked away, her eyes losing focus in a long, downcast gaze down at the gym floor, her lip clamped between her teeth. _Stop chewing that_, she thought harshly. _You're not Bella Fucking Swan. You're stronger than that. Show it._

But Regina couldn't help chewing her lip like a suicidal damsel in distress, to which most people claimed she bore a most unfortunate resemblance. She was highly ashamed of herself, and she was just waiting for Nick to glare at her and hiss some dire imprecations in her ear. Wouldn't surprise her, after what she'd done at lunch.

For the last week, Cora Mills had attempted a vegetarian diet, and she'd advised (for "advised," read "forced with extreme prejudice") Regina to follow suit. The drastic drop in protein intake, she could live with. But the equally drastic drop in sugar intake was really taking its toll on her. By sheer coincidence, Nick had sat next to her in the cafeteria that day, and he'd accidentally left behind his coat, complete with jelly bean bag. Regina took the opportunity, therefore, to grab a handful of jelly beans and down them all at once. Fully aware that she looked like the ultimate sugar junkie, Regina took off out the door and searched the halls for Nick, finally finding him sitting in the library and continuing his endless stream of sketches.

"Thanks, Nat," he'd said as she silently handed off the coat. He'd always called her that; it was a little inside joke that had just made itself up the day they'd first met. But just as she was about to leave, Nick called, "Regina? Hey, um, did you take some of my beans?"

Regina froze for a split second before finding her voice. "No. Maybe someone else did. Like, Daisy Foster? Wouldn't surprise me."

Nick frowned at her. "Don't lie to me, Regina. Did you take my jelly beans?"

"I..." Regina couldn't bring herself to tell the truth, and she took off running in embarrassment.

Soon, the rally ended, and everyone started jamming their way out the doors. This gym was a fire hazard, being too small for the current population of the school, and it showed in the epic traffic jam. Regina stepped outside into the chilly gray October afternoon. It looked like it was on the point of raining. Being Oregon, this was more or less the order of the day.

She walked back home, feeling increasingly shitty with each and every step. Weekends were awful in the Mills house. Cora was never there, but Regina still felt trapped anyway. There was a camera in the foyer, so Regina could never go out the front door unannounced. There were motion sensors on the windows, as she'd found out the hard way when she was fourteen and had tried to go to the movies to see _Inception_ with the one friend she'd ever made. Snow White. Her parents were nature-loving hippies, which explained the odd name.

They'd barely spoken since, because Snow blamed herself for the bruises Regina still had on her face when they met again at the start of the school year, six weeks later.

By the time she'd reached the corner of Main and Aspen, Regina was panting with exertion. Walking hurt. Breathing hurt. Everything hurt. She was feeling very light-headed, and that hurt too. Imagine trying to float while trapped on the ground with cement shoes on your feet. Not a pretty thought.

Regina's pale face shone even in the sunless day. She'd been terrified that soon she would go into low-blood-sugar shock and probably have to be hospitalized, and it appeared now that her prophecy would fulfill itself. With the sounds of passersby yelling for help ringing in her ears, she collapsed to the ground, her eyes fluttered shut, and with that she knew no more.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Regina knew it was a dream for two reasons. First, she had Nick in her room, stripped down to his underwear, and she could practically hear the grin on his face as her fingers flicked the waistband of his boxers. Second, he made a completely non-sequitur utterance that would only make sense when she was not asleep.

"Hey, Nat. You awake yet?"

With a groan, Regina blinked awake and realized she was in a hospital bed. IV drips in her arms, pulse-reading clampy thing on her finger, the whole shebang. Nick was sitting in a chair near the end of her bed, a pencil in one hand and a notebook in the other. Clearly he'd been drawing to pass the time.

Regina sighed heavily. For some reason, her mind wandered back to the first day of freshman year, when Snow had seen her for the first time since the day of _Inception_. Behind Snow was Nick, freshly moved down from the city. At the time he'd been a short, gangly fourteen-year-old, all skin and bones and thin layers of baby fat, but already in the olive peacoat he still wore today. It had been about two sizes too big for him back then.

"I've officially died and gone to heaven," he'd said. "And here's Natalie Portman to greet me!" He rushed forward and tackled Regina in a big bear hug. Like so many puppy-love-sick boys his age, Nick was surprisingly capable of latching on to a girl who had him by four inches and at least ten pounds.

Ever since then, despite the fact that he was smart and hard-working (everything Cora valued), Nick had been written off as "undesirable" by Regina's mother. Regina knew full well that Nick still liked her, but she tried to avoid him as much as possible. Which was a bit tough, considering that every year, it seemed there was at least one class they ended up sharing. First day of junior year, Regina had entered art class and came skidding to a stop (complete with cartoon sound effects, at least in her own headcanon) upon realizing Nick was sitting there too.

"You ain't gettin' rid of me that easy, Nat!" he'd laughed. By then his voice had lowered and he'd grown almost a foot, but his boyish, newborn-elf, sugar-high energy was otherwise intact. Hardly surprising, given his longtime habit of carrying jelly beans with him everywhere he went.

Today, Regina felt just awful. She'd passed out on the street, probably from hypoglycemia, and Nick had been watching her sleep in the hospital for who knows how long. Embarrassment flooded her all over again. _At least Mom's not here,_ she thought as it dimly registered there was nobody else in the room.

"Don't mind me," said Nick. He took a pair of beans from his pocket, one brown, one orange. "Swampwater?"

Regina looked up and frowned, shaking her head.

"Too bad," said Nick. "You know, if you're that badly in need of sugar, you only need to ask." Regina blinked but remained silent. "Yeah. Today," Nick continued. "I'm too good at figuring out liars, and that's what irritates me the most. You don't need to be too afraid to socialize, Regina. Sure, your mother probably trained you to be an evil ice queen, but last I heard it was your God-given right of adolescence to rebel, fight back."

"Speaking of my mother..." Regina sighed again. "Where is she?"

Nick laughed wryly. "Where do you think? Schmoozing with the school board at the homecoming game. I bet she doesn't even know you're here." Seeing her eyes well up with tears, Nick backpedaled swiftly. "Hey, don't cry. I wouldn't. Hell, I'd just take it as a sign that it's high fucking time to get out of this place."

Regina wiped her eyes. Crying was no use anyway, because Nick was absolutely right. She wouldn't even be surprised if Cora had been alerted to her condition and merely blew off the messenger. Maybe even tore out the person's heart for interrupting her informal business meeting.

"I think I'll take that swampwater now," she said, her voice breaking.

"Good girl," said Nick, handing her the jelly beans. Their hands brushed for the tiniest flash of a moment, and then they separated again as Nick took two more beans for himself.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Regina? Are you okay?"

Nick and Regina both choked and spluttered on their jelly beans as Cora Mills came into the hospital room, a look of gravest concern on her face. Naturally, it was nothing more than a mask, and everyone present knew it. Nick mouthed, "_Fucking shit!_" behind Cora's back, and for extra emphasis he drew his finger across his throat.

"What happened to you?" Cora asked, completely oblivious to Nick's mocking gestures.

Regina looked everywhere but her mother's eyes. "I dunno...I just passed out in the street. Maybe it was something I ate?"

"You didn't eat anything at school, did you?"

Nick eyeballed Regina and mouthed, "_Tell her it was the pizza. Those things are biohazardous anyway._"

Regina looked back up at her mother and said, "I think it was the pizza."

Cora stiffened. "I'll be having a word with those cafeteria ladies. They don't know a goddamn thing about hygiene..." Her voice broke off as she spotted the room's third occupant. "Oh, Mr. Burkhardt!" she said, continuing to feign some kind of positive, relieved demeanor as she strode across the room to shake Nick's hand. He took it, very reluctantly, and then clasped his hands, surreptitiously touching all his fingers on his right hand together to make sure they were still attached to his meat suit. "I can't thank you enough for keeping an eye on my daughter," she said. "I wish I'd been there to ensure she was properly taken care of, but..."

_But you were too busy trying to ensure the school board was wined and dined, you fucking wackjob,_ Nick thought. _There's no excuse for this kind of fuckery and you know it, bitch. So shut up and complain to someone who cares._

"Well!" Cora clapped her hands. "Just sit tight for a second while I sign you out, dear. And thank you again, Mr. Burkhardt. In fact, would you like to come to dinner at our house tomorrow evening?"

_No, I most certainly would not_, Nick thought. Out loud, however, he said, "That is a very nice offer, Ms. Mills. Thank you very much. I would be happy to come to dinner."

"Wonderful!" said Cora. "I'll give you the address when I come back. Seven o'clock tomorrow. No need to dress formally, either," she added in a tone of voice that said, "_If you aren't at least wearing a necktie I'll rip your dick off and jam it down your throat till you die._"

"Thanks again," said Nick, shaking her hand before she left. Once she did so, Nick made a huge show of counting his fingers. Regina laughed wryly as she sat up and moved her legs off the bed. Nick walked over and held her hand as she placed her feet on terra firma, despite her protest that she didn't need any help. Then he himself left, almost being bowled over by Cora as she sailed back down the hall. A candy striper with short black hair and a nametag reading "Snow" looked askance at her.

"_That_ invited you to dinner?" she said to Nick. "Oh, I'm so sorry."

* * *

The next day, at four o'clock, Nick was seriously considering stepping in front of an oncoming train. Sure, he wanted nothing more than to get a chance to socialize with Regina outside of school. Or the hospital, for that matter. But to have to eat dinner with that foul mother of hers...was it gonna be worth it? He was starting to think not.

Examining the clothes he had laid out on his bed after ironing them, he shelved the suicidal option for the time being. After all, sometimes there were no real second chances. He examined the sketch he'd tacked to the wall the day they'd moved in, three years earlier. That sketch was the reason they'd moved. Stupid oversensitive school officials.

He went into the shower, because he was certain Cora would otherwise smell his lack of cleanliness. While he stood under the hot water jets, he started rubbing the two-inch scar that ran down the centerline of his stomach. He'd had it for as long as he could remember, and his parents said it probably had been caused by those who'd birthed him. The 'rents had once insisted on trying to have it removed, but Nick had stubbornly refused. The scar, to him served as a reminder that not all the answers were findable.

He knew he shouldn't be touching it. But he couldn't really help himself. For whatever reason, touching the scar made him horny. His perception shifted until he saw himself lying on his back, stretched out as his wrists and ankles had been bound to his bedposts, while Regina kissed him on his scar, made his body tighten up like a spring until he finally...uncoiled, as it were. Luckily, he was in the shower, so cleaning up the mess was nothing.

_And hey, at least it's still a kind of silent rebellion against Cora Mills_, he thought. _Like, oh look at me, I'm touching your fancy silverware with the hand I came on. Fuck you, Cora! Ha ha ha!_

Nick returned to his room and got dressed in the nice clothes he'd chosen just for the occasion. While he did wear these a lot, they were typically not worn correctly. After all, there wasn't really any point going to school fully dressed in black slacks, a black sweater vest with red vertical stripes, black dress shirt, and red tie. Checking in the mirror to ensure he'd put the tie on correctly, he took one last look at his scar before pulling up the pants and belting them on. _Yeah, real sexy, Nicky,_ he thought disdainfully as he left. _Actually caring about your appearance. And here I thought you didn't give a shit. Why else do you wear the same army jacket every damn day?_

Eating one last jelly bean (strawberry daiquiri), Nick grabbed his raincoat and headed out the door.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Cora greeted Nick with uncharacteristic warmth as she opened the front door and ushered him into the house. _What, the help got a day off?_ Nick thought sourly, wondering why Cora would stoop so low as to open her own front door. It wasn't as if he was anyone special. And yet there she was, doing this as if it were every day that he came over to the Mills place for dinner. She even took the time to complement his outfit, but Nick could sense her lies immediately, as well as the things she was dying to say but just couldn't if she was going to keep up this air of politeness and Miss Manners. For instance, "_You need a haircut. You look like a stoned-out lummox._"

The meal turned out to be a surprisingly delicious one, but lighter than its substantial portion size suggested. Replacing the meatballs in meatball marsala with roasted black truffles helped in that regard. Nick, Cora, and Regina all ate in silence, waiting for someone to snap and jump across the table to strangle someone else.

Interestingly, Cora was the one who broke the silence after they had all finished. "So," she said slowly. "Mr. Burkhardt. I don't believe we've ever had the opportunity to speak together before. You know, my daughter thinks very highly of you."

_Yeah,_ Nick thought. _As if you'd know that. Get to the goddamn point already. And don't just refer to Regina as "your daughter." She's human, she's got a name. Fucking use it._

"But I can't imagine you have much time to socialize with her, the way she describes it," Cora continued. "Do you spend all your free time studying? I'm sure you must, with your consistent 3.8 average."

Nick swallowed. "I try. But it is very hard to maintain my GPA that high. To be honest, I am not sure I will be able to do so this year." He was rather enjoying the way he altered his diction when speaking to Cora. Particularly his complete absence of contractions, which was meant to imitate her somewhat highfalutin speech pattern. Cora's facial muscles twitched very slightly every time he spoke like this, as if she were being bitten by a bunch of gnats. For Cora, this facial expression was meant to simulate seething rage. The woman was far from extremely expressive.

"Oh really? Why is that?" Cora asked.

"I am having a great deal of trouble with AP Statistics," said Nick. "Some of the big ideas are flying over my head."

"I can understand that completely," said Cora. "Regina took AP Stats last year and she barely escaped with a B, didn't you, dear?" She glanced at her daughter, who nodded gravely. "Maybe if she could help you out? She could tutor you over the next few weeks."

Nick was telling the truth about his Stats problem, and he didn't think it would be even remotely possible to fix his grade there. What Cora seemed not to know was that the teacher graded on a curve, and so the limit for an A was higher than the usual 90 percent. So even though Nick had a decently steady 86 he was threatened with the possibility of his first-ever report card C.

And he had to wonder if Cora knew about this already, and why she would even bother pretending to take an interest in his studies. But he knew a perfectly good chance when he saw one, so he proceeded to jump on it quickly.

"That would be wonderful," he said.

"Perfect!" Cora said. "I wonder...Regina, are you free on Monday afternoon?" Regina nodded, as if her controlling mother didn't know her exact schedule every day. "Good, then you should have no problem meeting Mr. Burkhardt in the library on Monday at four. That work for you?" she asked Nick.

"Why, yes, it does," he said brightly.

"That's settled, then," said Cora. "Don't worry about the plates, I'll go wash them myself. Regina, why don't you show Mr. Burkhardt out?"

"Thanks for the dinner, Ms. Mills," Nick said as he shook the woman's hand. But then, once she was out of earshot, he laughed under his breath as Regina led him back to the front door. "I have no idea what your mother is doing," he said. "What, is she playing matchmaker?"

Regina laughed under her own breath. "I doubt it. She couldn't make a match if it meant the firing squad." Checking to make sure they were out of the foyer camera's view - as well as that of Cora, who was still in the kitchen - she gave Nick a hurried hug, which he returned tentatively, not quite sure what else to do or say.

Once he returned home, Nick removed the nice clothes and showered again before climbing into bed. The Burkhardt 'rents were still in San Francisco visiting Aunt Sarah, so he had the house to himself. Which he preferred, because he didn't want anyone to walk in on him at that moment.

He'd been seized with the sudden urge to open the secret compartment in his backpack, in which he carried a white sketchbook - his very first, which he'd had since he was eight. Most of the pages were ripped out, but there were still about twenty left, and all but four of these were filled with various pictures he'd made over the years, since he was eight. One every six months, like a kind of ritual. All of the same little boy with oversized glasses, holding a baseball, poised to toss it.

One might think, if they'd gotten a glimpse of the sketches, that they were self-portraits. Even the ancient stick figures.

But they weren't. They were Nick's only record of a memory that had been constantly nagging at him for half his life. A memory that contradicted his adoptive parents' official account of how they'd found him. A memory that, to Nick, was proof that somewhere, he had a living relative who could help him make sense of all the mysteries of his lost past.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Monday came along and with it, a brief burst of sunshine. Regina turned away from the sun as she sat in the library, under a big curved window in the teen section. She hated the sun, because it did nothing for her but burn her skin.

She therefore kept herself distracted by compulsively arranging and rearranging things in her backpack. Five minutes of this went by before Nick showed up at last and immediately started eating more of his seemingly endless supply of jelly beans. "Well?" he said. "Are we here to study or what? Let me just say this first, though - I have no faith in your ability to get me an A. Not with that tyrant and his bell curves in charge."

Regina laughed. "Well, if you don't have any faith, then what's left?"

"I don't know," said Nick. "Nothing?"

"Exactly," said Regina. "I should know. Any God out there would have brought an end to my mother's tyranny a long time ago."

"Have you ever considered the fact that He may very well be working in mysterious ways?" Nick asked.

Regina stared daggers at Nick. "Don't talk to me about mysterious ways," she said. "I've had enough of that idea to last me a lifetime."

Nick stretched out his arms, then pulled his sketchbook out and resumed work on one of his drawings. "Well, since we're not here to study and/or give tutoring, might as well just piss the afternoon away, know what I mean?"

Sitting back, Regina flicked her gaze out the window for a second before turning back around and focusing on Nick's sketchbook. "So what exactly do you draw all the time?" she asked. Just being curious.

"Sorry, that's personal," said Nick. "No need for you to get into my fantasies."

"I'm sure I'm already the star," Regina said dryly.

"Touché," Nick rejoined. "Actually...why not? Here, take a look." He stopped drawing and flipped back a few pages to reveal what he'd been working on during Friday's pep rally. It was a beautifully detailed sketch of a tall pine tree, just standing there all by itself. Black and white, of course, since it was drawn entirely in No. 2 pencil. But all the same, Regina found herself awestruck at the talent displayed in Nick's artwork.

She turned the page and found, on the reverse side, what appeared to be the same pine tree, but now split off at the base and in the process of falling down.

"I'm sure you've heard how if a tree falls and nobody hears it, does it make a sound?" Nick said. "This tree doesn't make a sound, even though we see it fall."

"Oh, how lovely," said Regina. "Totally not pretentious and incomprehensible."

Nick chuckled. "It's funny how artists can take random shit and make it sound like it contains the meaning of life."

"Which is what?" Regina asked.

"Finding the magic around us," said Nick. "Doesn't everyone know that?"

"Surprisingly, no," said Regina. "Wait. What kind of magic?"

"_Magical_ magic."

Regina chuckled. "Like this?" Before Nick could stop her, she tore the page out of his sketchbook and held it in front of her. Shocked at Nick's lack of reaction, Regina balled up her other hand and made a flame, which she then set onto the paper so it burned in her hands. "And you seriously don't care that I just killed your artwork? You're not dying inside?"

Nick snorted. "Dudes don't die inside."

"Everybody dies inside sometime, honey," said Regina. "Some...a little sooner than others." She reached out and put her still-warm hand on his chest, then slid it downwards.

But then a loud banging noise, followed by the lights going out, interrupted her heavy petting. She and Nick jumped out of their seats and looked out the window, where they could see a pine tree laying in the street, having just collapsed exactly like on the reverse side of Nick's drawing and severed the power line, which lay in sparking tatters around the fallen foliage.

"That magical enough for you?" Nick asked. Regina didn't answer; she merely gaped like a fish. She knew she'd had bizarre magical abilities inherited from Cora, but as far as she knew neither she nor Cora had ever done anything like this.

"Come on," Nick went on. "Let's get outta here before somebody starts accusing us of being witches or something." He took Regina's hand and pulled her from the spot, then together they left the building. Nick's intention was to walk Regina back home, but Regina insisted that they keep climbing the hill, going into the forested slopes on the edge of town.

"Sure your mom's not gonna blow a gasket over this?" Nick said.

"You saw her on Saturday," Regina pointed out. "Let's just draw out her good-moodiness for as long as humanly possible."

"Does the word 'humanly' even apply to Cora Mills?" Nick wondered aloud. But rather than wait for an answer, Regina took Nick's hand and led him into the woods.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"So what exactly are we doing here?" Nick asked.

"This is where we're gonna be going every day," said Regina. "Not the library. I agree, you've got no chance of getting an A in Stats from my tutoring."

Nick blew a raspberry. "Thanks a bunch, Nat."

"So I'm gonna be tutoring you in something else," said Regina. "The magical arts."

"Magic? You mean, like how you lit my drawing on fire and the tree came down in the street?" Nick laughed. "Sure. That was just a coincidence. And you probably had a lighter in your hand to catch the paper on fire."

Regina rolled her eyes. "My mother would kill me if she knew I had a lighter on me. So I don't. Simple as that. Speaking of which, I know this is probably a bad rumor, but is it true you go into the woods all the time to sneak smokes?"

"Smokes?" Nick rolled his eyes back at her. "Do I smell like a smoker? What do I need with cigarettes anyway? I got my jelly beans to keep myself sober!"

"So that's a no, then?"

"Absolutely."

"All right then," said Regina. "No magic training for you."

Nick raised his eyebrow. "Hey, that's not what I said..."

"You said no," Regina reminded him. "I didn't hear you say exactly what you said no _about_."

"I don't believe this," said Nick. "Stop teasing me, woman! Yes, I do want magic training! Not that it'll go anywhere, since I got no magical power."

Regina stuck her finger in Nick's chest. "Everyone's got magical powers," she said. "Most people just don't know how to use them. Come up here tomorrow if you wanna try to discover yourself." She turned on her heel and started walking down the hill. Behind her, Nick stayed put for a moment before setting off after her. Regina decided to speed up, just to screw around with him some more. She laughed, sensing Nick's annoyance building behind her. Then it was right next to her, as Nick had run much faster than was seemingly possible for a human.

"Don't tell me that was magic too," Nick said.

"At least it was your own magic this time," Regina laughed. "See, you do have potential after all!" She laughed again, then served him a big hug before opening the front gate at her house. _Well, that was a whole load of fun_, Regina thought. _Now all I need is for Mother to come home and find a way to ruin it._

As expected, Cora Mills did find a way to ruin it, but in a way even Regina couldn't see coming.

Cora came home and found Regina in her room. She stood in the door, holding something behind her back - a gesture that Regina had long since learned to treat with suspicion. "So, did you hear about the tree that fell outside the library today?" Cora asked without preamble.

"I heard it," said Regina. "I was in there, you know."

"Yes, I know," said Cora. "How well did Nick do? No, don't answer that. I know you don't care. In fact, you were angry about having to tutor him, right? You don't like him, and you don't want to help him."

Regina was flabbergasted. Where was this shit coming from?

"So, in a spot of revenge, you concentrated your magical power on the nearest tree and knocked it down." It was scary how Cora was so incapable of showing even the barest trace of emotion in her face, even when it was clear she was ready to burst into flames with rage.

"No, I didn't," said Regina, fighting to keep the petulant whine out of her voice. "Nick was very good with my lesson. I had no problem with him, and I certainly wouldn't drop a tree if I was angry. I know better than that, Mother!"

"Don't lie to me," hissed Cora. She pulled her hand out from behind her back, revealing a weapon Regina had been told about, but never seen. A silver knife, with gold etchings inlaid into the blade. Cora slid the blade down the back of her hand, and Regina felt a faint pressure on her own hand, in the exact same place.

Then, without warning, Cora stabbed the knife into her own upper arm. But it left no blood or markings on her. Instead, it was Regina's arm that was slashed open, Regina's arm that started dripping blood.

Regina bit back a scream of pain. "Mother! What are you doing?"

"Tell the truth, Regina." Cora's voice remained flat and even. "Tell the truth and it'll stop." She stabbed again, an inch closer to the shoulder, opening a new wound on Regina's arm.

Clutching her arm and biting her tongue, Regina awkwardly made to run out the door, only for Cora to block her and slash open her cheek this time. Thinking quickly, Regina turned around and ran out the window instead, taking advantage of her magic to slow her fall so she could float over the backyard and land on the other side of the fence. She ran without looking back, barely stopping even when Cora attempted to cut Regina's leg but failed, leaving only a tiny scratch.

Regina finally stopped in the middle of the woods, almost in the same place where she'd stopped with Nick earlier that day. She was scared that Cora would follow her and keep trying to hurt her, but she couldn't keep running any more. She sank to the ground, her head next to a small wild mushroom, and fell asleep. The next thing she knew, Cora was running through the dark woods, throwing a number of gold-etched silver knives at her, only to be stopped by Nick, who was firing bolts of white light from his palms and vaporizing the knives in mid-flight.

Nick then turned to Regina and yelled in a raw, broken voice, "Hey, Regina, wake up! Are you okay? Talk to me!"

Regina blinked and realized it was suddenly daytime, and Nick was leaning over her, his big dark eyes bloodshot and wet as if he'd been crying.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"What...what are you doing here?" Regina asked Nick as he sat next to her.

"Cutting class," he said in a would-be cheerful voice, as he put the aged white notebook back in his backpack. "It's eleven o'clock now. Have you been out in the woods all night? I don't exactly think that's a healthy way to pass the time."

Regina sighed heavily as she sat up against the tree trunk behind her. "Well, yeah, I have been out here all night, I guess. Unless somebody took me while I was unconscious and-"

"No." Nick couldn't believe such a thing would happen. "Was it Cora? I bet it was her."

Regina laughed ruefully. "You know what? You're right. She cut me up with a crazy voodoo knife and tried to force me to admit I brought down that tree yesterday."

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Nick put his arms around Regina, fully expecting her to squirm out of his grasp. It was a testament to the seriousness of her current situation that Regina actually hugged him back, hard. "Are you all right?"

"Well, I'm not dead, my cuts aren't infected, and you totally believed me when I said my mother did this to me," said Regina. "So I guess I am okay, yeah."

Nick placed his hand on Regina's spine, right between her shoulder blades. "Even if you cut yourself I wouldn't care. The point is, you've been hurt, and that's bad."

"That's all you have to say?" Regina laughed. "'That's bad?' Some romantic stud-boy you are."

"Nobody ever said I was a romantic stud-boy," Nick pointed out. "And you're not exactly, um, catching me at the best of times here."

Regina looked around Nick and saw the white notebook still sticking out of his open backpack. "Another sketchbook? How many of these do you have?"

This time, however, Nick was faster than her, and was able to stuff the notebook into his backpack and zip it closed before she could get her hands on it. "Sorry, but this one really is personal. It's not something I show anyone, ever. Not even my 'rents."

"So that's where you keep your fantasy drawings," said Regina. "Come on, let me look, I won't judge."

Nick's lips curled. "Sorry, but you're in a bad enough mood as it is. I don't exactly want you setting these on fire. These are my life's work, basically." He reached up and tucked Regina's hair behind her ears. "That's better," he said. "I like to see your ears. They're so cute and small."

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," cracked Regina. Nick responded by miming the same hair-tucky gesture on the side of his own head. One thing about Nick that had always surprised Regina was how relatively short his hair was, for an outcast dude, anyway. What his hair lacked in length, however, it made up for in thickness.

"I do believe you need some kind of cheering up," Nick said. "Howsabout I share with you a little story time?"

"As long as you got a captive audience," Regina said, patting Nick's arms, which were still encircling her.

"Great," said Nick. "Now, let me warn you, this is totally random here. So if you start spontaneously getting the giggs - or, more importantly, if _I_ start spontaneously getting the giggs - don't be alarmed. Okay?"

"If you say so," said Regina.

"Okay," said Nick. "Here goes. Once upon a time, there lived in the great city of Portland a happy, carefree little boy in his last year of middle school. His name was Rick Kartheiser, and he loved to draw things. All sorts of things. One day, his drawing got him in trouble with the horrible, villainous Board of Education, who decided his work was in direct violation of their useless, strict, and overly rigidly enforced rules. His crime? Sketching a beautifully detailed picture of a little boy, with his back turned, wielding a broadaxe and preparing to decapitate a group of several zombie cheerleaders with no faces. This was considered 'terroristic' and 'dangerous' and 'a warning sign of deviant behavior,' and the Board of Education decided to banish poor little Ricky, rather than allow him the freedom of artistic expression he so rightly deserved. So he moved to a small town in the forest, underneath a big mountain peak, and although the Board of Education in this place was influenced by a tyrannical moronic idiot, they did not have such hard and fast rules as did that of Portland, and Ricky was allowed to keep drawing in peace. And he also met a pretty brunette girl with whom he would have a long war of flirtation that has so far lasted just over three years."

Nick paused, and let go of Regina, only holding her hands now. "So, what did you think?"

"Well," said Regina slowly, "let me get this straight. A boy named _Ricky_ did a zombie cheerleader murder drawing and got expelled from school in Portland, so he came to Forest Peak...and met the girl of his dreams?"

"That's right," said Nick. "Glad you paid at least some attention."

"But why is there no ending?"

"That's because the ending hasn't happened yet," said Nick. "And far be it from me-" he kissed her hand - "to divine the future with any accuracy-" he kissed her neck - "milady." Nick then pulled Regina forward again and kissed her on the lips.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

As Nick pulled away, Regina grinned shiftily at him. "You are a really sucky kisser," she said.

"Oh, I know," said Nick. "Give me some credit, girl! It's only my first time."

"Aww, that's sweet," said Regina. "Same here."

Nick laughed. "Look at you, being all judgey. What gives you the right to judge me? You can't judge me against anyone, 'cause you're just as inexperienced as I am. So what exactly did I do wrong?"

"That would be telling," Regina laughed, tapping her eyelid.

Nick pulled her forward into another hug. "You know, I love you, but you really can be extremely infuriating sometimes," he said, rubbing her cheek with his thumb. He felt a strange tingling in his thumb, like Regina's face had been electrified. Looking down, he realized something was happening. His thumb made contact with one of Regina's barely-healed cuts and sealed it up completely so it looked like nothing had ever happened.

"Ow!" Regina pulled away. "What the hell did you just do to me? That hurt like hell."

"Take a look for yourself," said Nick, pulling his iPod out of his pocket so Regina could look at her reflection in its mirror-finished back side. She examined her cheek, right where Nick had just healed her injury.

"I'd say 'do it again,'" said Regina, "but I don't think the pain makes it worth it."

Nick frowned. "Maybe it just hurts less each time. God, I just realized how dirty that sounded."

"I know nothing about this 'dirty-sounding-ness,'" said Regina. "Just try it out."

Nick placed his fingers on two more of Regina's cuts and concentrated. They healed, but slowly, and this time Regina only flinched a small bit, nowhere near as dramatically as before.

"You know what this means?" Regina asked excitedly. "You do have magic powers after all! See, I told you!"

"I...I guess you're right," said Nick. "Wow. A healer. Who knew? Wonder what other powers I'll develop."

"Maybe shooting lasers out of your hands?" Regina suggested.

With a laugh, Nick shook his head. "I doubt it. Healing hands and shooty hands don't really go together, do they?" As if to demonstrate, he turned his hands, palms up, and pretended to shoot lasers of some kind.

"What kind of shooting stance is that?" asked Regina. "You look like you're shooting out of your wrists."

"Meh, it just came to me," said Nick. He sat down and stared into space. "You know, if your mom is really trying to kill you, maybe you could crash at my place for a while."

Regina shook her head. "No way. Your parents wouldn't allow it, and if my mom found me there she'd kill you for putting my honor in danger or some shit like that. I'm sorry, but death is a big deal-breaker for me."

"I honestly don't think my parents would care," said Nick. "If they did, they wouldn't constantly be funding my jelly-bean habit, would they?" He took a grape-flavored bean from his pocket and handed a coffee-flavored one to Regina. "Besides, you haven't seen my zombie-cheerleader drawing yet!"

"You kept it?" Regina asked in disbelief. "Really?"

"And why not?" answered Nick, taking Regina by the hand and leading her out of the woods, much like how Regina had led Nick into the woods the day before. They had to take care not to pass through any seriously populated areas - or near the Mills house - but Nick's street was virtually deserted, and nobody noticed them entering the Burkhardt place in the middle of the day.

"Here," said Nick, leaving Regina in his room. "My drawing is on the wall, so take a look and enjoy. I'll just take a quick shower. Bee arr bee!"

He sidled into the bathroom and took off his clothes, staring down at the scar on his stomach again. Upon realizing he had a healing power, he'd seriously considered fixing the scar, but at the same time he felt that if he did so, he'd be letting go of the mysterious memories he kept going over in his mind all the time.

And, because he was a teenage boy, Nick's brain shifted gears and broadcast the message, loud and clear, that _Regina Freaking Mills is in my house, and I'm naked, and what if she came in here right now and-_

Predictably, these thoughts overwhelmed him, as much as he tried to keep them down. _Dammit,_ he thought. _Well, I'll just have to get it out of my system ASAP._ He sat in the shower and once again let himself go flying into crystal-clear visions of Regina's warm body sliding onto his, their mouths connected, their chests heaving with exertion...and finally, their cries of sheer ecstasy, and Regina's head dipping down as her tears dripped onto Nick's chest.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

While Nick was in the shower, Regina took the opportunity to poke around his room. After all, she was only a human being, and she wanted to ensure Nick wasn't some kind of ravaging serial-killing monster. She was certain he would be a while; she could hear certain telltale groaning noises from the shower. Muffled, but definitely there. _Now is this really a good time to jack off?_ Regina thought with mild disgust. It also suddenly occurred to her how easy guys had it when it came to pleasuring themselves. If she'd been a boy, she'd probably have had much more success over the years, and probably also have been caught and killed by Cora a long time ago.

Regina opened his backpack and found the battered old white sketchbook hiding inside. _Hmm,_ she thought. _So what mysteries does my broody friend want to hide?_ She opened the old notebook and took a peek. The first thing she found was an old stick-figure drawing. Not very detailed, but enough that Regina could see what it was supposed to depict - a little boy with a baseball and mitt in hand.

She turned the page and found more pictures of the same little boy. Clearly these were drawn several years apart, because as she went on through the sketchbook the pictures got even better, less crudely detailed. But they were all of the same little boy. Dark hair, big dark eyes, a big smile on his face like little boys were supposed to have when all they knew was that the world was waiting for them.

With a sudden jolt of recognition, Regina realized who Nick was drawing. Himself as a little kid. _But why?_ she thought. _What's the point?_

With another jolt, Regina realized the shower had stopped running, which meant Nick could be coming back into the room any second now. She hurriedly stuffed the sketchbook back into Nick's backpack, hoping against hope she hadn't destroyed it in any way. Moving to the other side of the room and leaning casually against the wall, she waited for Nick to reenter the room.

As he did so, Regina noticed that he was still in the process of putting a purple-and-black-striped long-sleeve shirt on, and she caught a split-second glimpse of his stomach. Not a great deal of muscle there, but there was a long, ugly scar straight down the middle, splitting his borderline-vestigial abs cleanly in two.

"It's a long story," said Nick, completely out of nowhere.

"What's a long story?" asked Regina. "I didn't say anything."

"You sure?" said Nick, rubbing the still-wet back of his neck and grabbing for a hoodie. "Come on, you saw my scar. Don't deny it. If you'd like, I'll tell you where it came from. And yes, it has everything to do with the pictures you saw in my sketchbook." Nick finally stopped himself as he realized Regina hadn't even brought up the sketchbook. "Hold on. Where am I hearing this from?"

Regina froze. "Oh God," she whispered. "Are you reading my mind?"

"Not exactly," said Nick. "More like hearing your thoughts." He pulled up the hood far enough to cover his forehead. "That's better," he said. "That sort of muffles the thoughts. And don't be so jealous about my being better equipped to play with myself. Trust me, it ain't all it's cracked up to be."

"Tell me about it," said Regina before she could stop herself.

Nick sat down on the bed and pushed aside his backpack so Regina could sit next to him. "I just thought of something," he said, pulling another notebook out of his backpack and taking out a drawing of a chocolate bar.

"Didn't know you were into still-lifes," said Regina.

"I'm not so sure this counts," Nick responded. "That's not important. I want you to burn this."

"Burn it?"

"Yeah, like how you burned my drawing yesterday in the library," Nick said. "I wanna see if it still works."

Regina rolled her eyes, but took the freshly-ripped-out page and set it on fire. As soon as the ashes drifted to the floor, she looked up just in time to see a chocolate bar drop from midair onto her lap.

"Go on, eat it." Nick smiled. "I'm sure it's still good. I made it a white-dark swirl."

Regina laughed and unwrapped the bar, revealing a black-and-white swirled sweet inside. She took a bite and let the flavor fill her mouth. "Mmm," she moaned. "That's delicious. Where did you come up with that?"

"They sell it at Vampire Sweets downtown," Nick said. "If you've never been there, they make the most excellent candy."

"But...this thing still works," said Regina. "That's awesome!"

Nick smiled again. "Yep. We got awesome powers. Guess our parents couldn't raise proper Muggles after all. Suck it, Hanna and Vernon Burkhardt! And Cora Mills!"

Regina giggled. "Do you never refer to your parents as Mom and Dad? Even I do that. Well, I would, if my dad were still with us."

"Dead? Divorced?"

"Gone," said Regina. "Nobody knows where he is."

"Better than me, anyway," said Nick. "I haven't seen my parents in about twelve years."

Regina's eyes boggled. "Wait, you live here alone?"

"No," said Nick. "Come on, have you seen the Burkhardts? They're blond and blue-eyed Germans, nothing like me. I'm adopted. Didn't you know?"


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"No, I actually didn't know that, believe it or not," said Regina. "So what happened to your real parents?"

Nick sighed and leaned back, pushing his hood up and his bangs off his forehead. "You askin' me? That's sort of what I've been trying to find out ever since they left me."

Regina frowned. "Didn't your foster parents tell you?"

"What they told me was a lie," said Nick. "They insisted on having me believe that my real parents were, like, druggies or something, living rough on the streets of downtown Portland. They say they found me lying next to a Dumpster when I was a little baby, bleeding from a stomach wound. They say my parents got drunk and stabbed me, then left me for dead."

"Well, if that happened when you were only a baby," Regina asked, "how do you know it's not true?"

"Because I remember something from when I was, like, four or five," Nick said. "Me and my brother playing baseball in the house, even though we weren't supposed to, and our parents just coming in and taking us away. They left my brother at some other house with these two old folks - maybe our grandparents, I can't tell. But they took me to the airport and put me with Sarah and Vernon."

Regina sniffled a little; she was starting to cry from hearing Nick's story. "You mean, this isn't supposed to be you?" She reached around and pulled out the old white sketchbook, opening up to one of the more recent drawings of the boy with the baseball.

"I should be mad at you for looking at that without my permission," said Nick. "But considering I've never trusted anyone else enough to know what those sketches were really about, I'm gonna let it slide." He took the sketchbook and closed it, putting it behind him. "Yeah. That's not me, that's my brother. I think we were identical twins, but my memory's so fuzzy I can't even say for sure." He swallowed, and his eyes twitched. "God, I can't even remember my own brother's name. It might have been Paul? Parker? Peter? Dammit, I still...I still..." Nick's breath shuddered as he himself gave in to the tears. "I got nothing, Regina. See how messed-up I am? I can't even open up to the people who volunteered to raise me, not when they've been hiding the truth from me for years. I haven't even opened up, period." He wiped his eyes and turned away from Regina, forcing her to tilt her head as he whispered another sentence so faintly she otherwise couldn't pick up on it. "Until now, that is."

Regina put her arms around Nick and kissed the side of his neck. "Shit. I didn't know. I'm so sorry, Nick." Before she could stop herself, though, her brain started firing off random devil's-advocate thoughts. _What if he's lying? What if he's just making shit up? What if he's got some kind of schizoid delusion going on?_

"I guess it's natural for you to think that," Nick said, reminding Regina that he could hear her thoughts. "Maybe if our places were switched I'd be thinking the same thing."

"Don't say that," Regina said. "I mean, when someone confesses their tragic childhood story to you, it's hard to come up with the appropriate reaction right away."

"So maybe it is okay, then," said Nick. "Otherwise I'd have to accuse you of being a sociopathic bitch."

Regina chuckled as Nick turned around and returned her hug. "I already am. Have you thought of that?"

"Don't say that," Nick said. "You're not a bitch."

"But you're still suggesting I'm a sociopath?" Regina said, gasping in mock horror.

"There's the sweetly snarky Regina I remember," Nick whispered. "Glad to have you back with us."

"So where did the scar come from, then?" asked Regina, pulling up Nick's hoodie and shirt to see it. On second glance, she realized it wasn't quite as ugly and fearsome as it had first appeared.

"That I don't know," said Nick. Suddenly he stiffened and bolted out the door, like a dog scenting a squirrel.

"What's the matter?" Regina asked. "Ticklish much?"

Nick ignored Regina and descended the stairs to the middle landing, where a small picture window looked out onto the front yard and the street. "Oh shit," he groaned under his breath. "Holy fucking shit. How did she find us?"

"Who?" Regina asked, but she knew Nick's answer before he gave it.

"Your mother," said Nick. "And hoo boy, does she look pissed off. Um, I'd go upstairs if I were you. Hide in my room until I get rid of her."

"And if you don't?" Regina asked fearfully as Cora rang the doorbell.

"Then go out the back window and get to Vampire Sweets," said Nick. "Tell them I want you kept hidden until I come to fetch you. The Koenigs don't ask questions when I'm involved." He cringed as Cora started pounding on the door knocker, then made his way to the foyer and opened the door at last, waiting first for Regina to carefully shut his bedroom door behind her.

"Mrs. Mills?" asked Nick innocently, sniffling to suggest he was merely home sick. "To what do I owe the honor?"

"Don't play dumb with me, young man," Cora growled, raising her hand up to Nick's chest and pressing hard. With a huge, painful wrench, Nick was left staring as Cora quite literally pulled his heart out of him. "Where is my daughter?"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"How...how did you do that?" Nick gasped, choking slightly as he realized what Cora had just done.

"I said..." Cora held up the glowing red heart and whispered into it menacingly, "_Tell me where you've got my daughter._"

Nick was seized by the sudden urge to reveal Regina's hiding place to the cruel woman at his doorstep, but he knew he shouldn't. "Like I'm gonna tell you," he said defiantly, finally done playing the Mr. Foolish Nice Guy game. "Regina's told me all about you, you fucked-up bitch. She told me how you cut her up with a voodoo knife and beat her up just for going to the movies with a friend." On a sudden whim, he added, "And what about that husband of yours? Whatever did you do to him to convince him to just up and leave you guys?"

Cora's face twisted into a nasty, angry glare, which on her normally blank face looked positively evil. "You forget, I'm holding your heart in my hands," she hissed. _And how did you know I killed Leopold?_ she thought, unaware that Nick heard those words too.

"That's exactly what I thought," said Nick. His display of bravado was only a mask, however; inside his fear was rising. After all, the only things he knew he could do were healing and telepathy. If he knew about any powers that would allow him to fight, he wouldn't be so afraid. He felt like he was about to liquefy right there in his own home. _That's right, just leave a big watery stain on the floor_, Nick thought miserably.

A second later, he jumped backwards, fearing that his thought-prophecy had actually happened. There was suddenly a great deal of water on the tile floor, but as he looked closely, he realize that the water had flowed around his feet and, now that they were planted elsewhere, it was surging into the space his feet had previously occupied.

_I dunno where this water's coming from_, Nick thought, _but I'll be damned if I don't try to use it._ He imagined that the water was like the fire Regina could conjure up in her hands - his own element, his to control. Sure enough, a sizable quantity of water rose up into his hand, glowing blue. At this point Nick realized two more things - one, that Cora was still standing in now ankle-high water; and two, barely five seconds had passed since he'd realized he'd developed a hydrokinetic power. It was as if time had slowed to a crawl.

But not for long, because as soon as Nick threw his ball of water at Cora, she was pushed backwards, dropping his heart, and time sped back up to normal again as Nick lunged for his heart and grabbed it mere milliseconds before it impacted the wet floor.

"YES!" Nick yelled triumphantly as he grabbed his heart. But seconds later he realized he had absolutely no idea how to put it back into place.

"Aw crap, did she really pull your heart out?" Regina asked, sliding down the stairs to the ground floor. She took Nick's heart in hand and pushed it against his chest, allowing it to return to the place where it belonged.

"Regina, didn't I tell you to get out of here while you could?" Nick pointed out.

"What, and miss the chance to see you lay the smack down on my mother?" Regina laughed. "I think not. DUCK!" she yelled as Cora scrambled back up the front steps and aimed a large fireball their way. Regina and Nick hit the deck just in time as the fire sailed over their heads, impacting the kitchen doorway behind them. Nick pushed the water on the floor so Cora would be knocked over again, and then pulled some of the water aside to put the fire out. This left the arched doorway soaking wet, but Nick didn't care. What was more important was ensuring that the dreadful witchy woman get removed from his house immediately.

"Upstairs," Nick ordered Regina. "I think we might have a way to stop her." They raced upstairs and Nick started tearing open his drawers. (Not his underwear, you understand. Even this desperate virgin knew this was no time for a quickie.) "Jesus, I can't even remember which one it's in. Regina, help me. One of these drawers has a big bag of water balloons in it."

"Water balloons? Childish, but if it gets rid of my mother..." Regina started pulling open drawers on the other side of the dresser from where Nick was searching.

"Got 'em!" Nick and Regina yelled simultaneously as they opened the same middle drawer and found their intended weapons.

"And got _you_," said Cora suddenly, having just stopped outside Nick's bedroom door. "Stand down and I might show mercy."

Nick surreptitiously removed a water balloon from the bag and concentrated hard on filling it up. "_Why do villains have to have such horrific lines?_" he whispered to Regina, handing it off to her once it was filled up.

"_I have no idea, honey_," Regina answered, taking the balloon and tossing it at her mother. Luckily, like most people, Cora's first instinct when confronted by a strange object bound for her face was to put up her hands as a shield. This resulted in her hands getting wet and, presumably, unable to conjure any more fireballs.

But unlike most people, Cora was blessed with supernatural powers. As such, she was able to launch more fire at Nick and Regina, forcing them again to duck aside. This time, however, Nick's old zombie-cheerleader drawing caught fire in the process. Apparently, Cora was also able to bring Nick's drawings to life by burning them, because Nick stood up with a honking big broadaxe in hand. And no less than five zombies in cheerleader outfits were shambling up the stairs, dripping blood and guts behind them.

"Oh shit," Cora cursed, setting Regina giggling because she'd never heard her mother swear before. _This can only mean one thing_, Regina thought happily. _My sainted mother is scared shitless!_

"Oh shit," Nick cursed. "Stand aside, Cora. Let me handle these mofos." He moved into the doorway, staring down the zombie cheerleaders, not sure if he was holding the broadaxe right. But then, it was his own drawing he'd just seen burn. Maybe this wouldn't turn out so badly after all.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Nick swung his big axe and decapitated the nearest zombie cheerleader, causing her head to tumble down the stairs while she sank to her knees and oozed more blood and guts all over the nice clean white carpet. _I'm so gonna pay for this,_ Nick moaned in his head, but in the moment, he didn't care. He was having too much fun swinging a bladed weapon at zombies with his girlfriend helping him.

Regina actually had a different and much darker method for dispatching the zoms. Her idea was to grab the nearest cheerleader's heart and whisper into it, "_I wanna bash my head in until it explodes._" Sure enough, once she did so, the zombie-girl shuffled over to the wall and commenced the massive self-head-poundage until she, too, collapsed dead onto the carpet.

Cora, meanwhile, ducked underneath one zombie, then another, hoping to leave Nick and Regina to their possible deaths. But no such deaths came. Two of the four cheerleaders succumbed to Regina's heart attack, while Nick slashed up the other two with little effort.

Once they were done, Cora made her way back into Nick's room, wielding a flaming fist once more. But Nick was ready - he summoned some of the standing water from downstairs and quenched the fire. "You know something, Cora?" he asked. "I dunno if you noticed, having been outside the room and all, but Regina and I just saved your life. The least you can do is spare ours. Or are you that much of a foul heartless bitch that you don't give a shit about decency?"

"I...I..." Cora was reduced to stuttering, something that had never happened in her life, not even when her own mother had pulled her heart out as punishment for daring to kiss a nice boy she didn't approve of. Then she held her hands up in surrender. "Fine. You win. I'll let you live, for now at least." Without another word, Cora turned on her heel and descended the stairs, leaving Nick and Regina to stare after her.

* * *

As Cora left the house, she came across the homeowners, the blond and blue-eyed Burkhardt parents. "Unless you guys want to suffer heart attacks," she said, "I advise you to turn around. Right now." She set off, putting on a foolish false smile as the Burkhardts entered their house and gasped loudly at the sights of leaking pipes and bloody severed heads all over the place.

Cora turned around and continued to leave, but did not stop to look at the puncture wounds on her right upper arm until she was well out of sight of anyone in the house.

* * *

"I'd say 'I can explain,'" said Nick as his foster parents gaped at the mess their house had been left in, "but somehow I don't think that would do it justice."

"Damn right," said Vernon Burkhardt. "What came into this house, a mad zombie witch?"

"Something like that," said Regina.

Nick glowered at Vernon and Hanna as they sidestepped the zombie cheerleader heads still littering the stairs. "You know, I think now is the perfect time to ask - why did you lie about my real parents? And don't bother denying it, I know you didn't tell me the truth."

"Now listen here, young-" Vernon began, but Hanna put out an arm, not only to stop him from accidentally treading on a head, but also to stop him gearing up to yell at the boy he adopted.

"Vernon, we knew this day was coming sooner or later," she said. "I think it's clear. Nick really needs to meet his real family."

"Great!" said Nick. "So you know where they are?"

Hanna's eyes glanced downward guiltily. "No," she said ruefully. "See, it happened when we were meeting with the other shopkeepers in town. Well, we didn't live in this town then. We lived in White Pine Bay. And we were about to be expelled from the group, 'cause we couldn't have kids."

"What group?" asked Nick. "What, were you guys, like, Russian sleeper agents or something?"

"It's not important," said Hanna. "The point is, we were about to be kicked out, but then we got a kid. You. Your parents came into the room, you in blankets, about four years old at the time, I think. Anyway, they said one day, we'd know it was time to send you to White Pine Bay, because they were hiding something there that you were supposed to inherit when you came of age. Or something."

Regina stepped in and asked, "Where's this White Pine Bay?"

"On the coast," said Vernon. "The place where they put this thing - I think it was called the Summer Motel, right, Hanna?"

"Yes," said Hanna. "But it's called the Bates Motel now. I think. It's been a while since we were there."

"Well, I gotta go there right away, don't I?" said Nick. "So I can find out what else you've lied to me about."

"Don't talk like that," said Hanna. "We promised to raise you like a normal kid as long as we could. I'd say we did a pretty good job. Here..." She opened the master bedroom door and took an envelope out of the dresser, full of twenties and hundreds. "They also said it'd take you a long time to find everything, but every place they went, they left behind a clue. It's like a treasure hunt, I think."

"I..." Nick was speechless. "I don't know what to say."

"Just take the money, son," said Vernon. "Don't worry about this mess. We'll take care of it all. Just go, get out of here."

Nick swallowed as he took the envelope. "Well...um...thanks for telling me the truth?"

"We're so sorry, Nicky," said Hanna as she hugged her adopted son. Vernon joined them and added, "You go find your parents and...discover yourself, I guess. Wow. I didn't know this would be so hard."

"Well, if there's one thing fiction has taught us," Regina said, "it's that absence makes the heart grow fonder. I think. Right?" She slid down the banister with surprising grace and exited the house.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"No, you don't need to go with me," said Nick.

"But I want to," said Regina. "Don't forget, you're not the only one with crazy powers. Maybe I'll find out something about myself too. And who knows? Maybe your family will wanna adopt me as their own daughter, if we ever find them."

Nick chuckled. "Okay, if you insist. But I'm driving." He held open the passenger door of the old Saturn and waited for Regina to take her seat before getting in and turning the car on and leaving.

As they drove west towards White Pine Bay, Regina fell asleep in her seat, which surprised Nick given how rigid and plasticky it was. He lowered the volume on the radio so as not to run the risk of waking her up, and hummed along as the pop radio finally ended the latest endless repetition of "Blurred Lines" and moved on to something far more tasteful - OneRepublic's "Counting Stars," a song Nick didn't think he'd ever get tired of. "_Lately I've been, I've been losing sleep..._" Ryan Tedder sang, practically inviting Nick to join in.

He drove along, listening to the song, letting the lyrics fill his ears - but then, Regina started sighing in her sleep, very loudly. These were serious happy noises, too. Although Nick was sorely tempted to listen in on her thoughts, he didn't want to know what was going through her mind at that moment. _What if she's thinking of me?_ he thought. _Do I wanna know?_

Putting the noise out of his mind, Nick put on his earbuds and allowed the music to block out all other sound. _I just hope if she does like me, I don't disappoint her_, he thought. _I love her too much. I don't want her to hate me forever._

-End of Part 1-


End file.
